Fantasy by Cara Sutra Beginner’s Bondage Kit (Red)

Pleasure Panel review by Edn

The Fantasy by Cara Sutra Beginner’s Bondage Kit is an eight piece collection which covers most of the basics. In it you will find ankle and wrist cuffs, a collar and leash, a length of rope, a blindfold, a breathable ball gag, a flogger and (heaven be praised!) a set of safety instructions.

I’ll look at each part separately:

The ankle and wrist cuffs.

The cuffs are of the soft buckled type, held together with chain. Each cuff is very robustly made of thick material with plenty of re-enforcing rivets to hold it together. They are lined on the inside with a furry material. Whether you like this or not is purely personal choice; I prefer a smooth surface but taste vary. Whatever your taste they are very comfortable to wear and feel firm; I can’t see anyone breaking them easily. The chains are probably the weak-point of the cuffs. Each cuff has a D-ring and the chain is attached to them via a column bolt. I have a history with column bolts; I don’t think I’ve had one yet that hasn’t sheared in use. If the person using them is a serious struggler you might be better removing the chains and using the rope in the Fantasy by Cara Sutra Beginner’s Bondage Kit to lace the cuffs together.

The Collar and leash.

The construction of the collar follows the design of the cuffs: big think and chunky. Again the fur lining makes it comfortable against the skin. The collar itself is about two inches (about 5cm) wide so certainly not a skinny and insubstantial thing. In fact if you’re on the small side it’s getting close to being a posture collar. The leash was a bit of a disappointment. Next to the solidity of the collar and cuffs it looks very thin and fragile, but the leash attaches using a d-ring on the collar so if you want something more solid it’s an easy job to swap in.

Rope.

You get a nice long piece of woven cotton style rope, which while it won’t please the purists (what no jute?) it is comfortable in use and easy to clean if you need to. There’s not much you can say about rope; it’s a useful length not too thin or thick and takes a knot without slipping. You may find it stretches slightly in use but that shouldn’t be a problem.

Blindfold.

The blindfold is cut from the same material as the collar and cuffs, though perhaps slightly thinner and more flexible. It uses a piece of elastic to hold in place which is pretty standard. It uses the same fur backing as the collar and cuffs and it does tend to moult while new so it’s worth giving it a good brush before use to remove any loose pile and stop it ending up in anyone’s eyes.

Breathable ball gag.

The ball gag feels a little less robust than the rest of the Fantasy by Cara Sutra Beginner’s Bondage Kit so far. The straps are thinner and lack the fur backing. It doesn’t feel shoddy by any means, just not as impressively solid as the collar and cuffs. If I do have any concern over the construction of the gag it’s that the rings that hold the straps to the bit are not welded so there is a potential for them to be deformed and present an edge. This is extremely unlikely to happen but worth keeping an eye on. In use I found the ball of the gag is slightly too large for long term use, but if you’re only planning on short term use it’s absolutely fine for the job.

Flogger.

If there is a weak spot in the kit it’s the flogger. It doesn’t feel anything like as well constructed as the rest of the contents. It does the job for light sensation play and has a very mild sting but it just didn’t feel very robust in use. That being said it’s still in one piece, so it’s not going to fall apart on you!

Safety Instructions.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated the simple addition of a couple of pages of instructions! Many toys, even beginner’s toys, come with nothing and you have to work it out for yourself. The instructions give a brief overview of the Fantasy by Cara Sutra Beginner’s Bondage Kit but also cover the essential elements of consent, safe words and safe use. The watch words of bondage play are safe, sane and consensual and it’s wonderful to see them in a beginner’s kit.

Before I give a mark for this set I just want to point out clearly how I’ve assessed it. This is a beginner’s bondage kit not for those who have been playing for a long time. That’s not to say there aren’t things that a more experienced player couldn’t use but I’m looking at it on the basis that, for its target market, it’s an experiment rather than a lifestyle. That proviso out of the way I would have to say that for its purpose this is an excellent set. It’s much more robustly put together than a lot of stuff I see sold and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it if you’ve been thinking about trying some light bondage. On that basis I would give the Fantasy by Cara Sutra Beginner’s Bondage Kit an 8/10.

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